ALMANIUNK. 



ALOE. 



mi- 1 other Alp* and other Andea my be produced from the materials 

 which are now washed from our shores, and are accumulating in 

 the unfathomable depths of the ocean. We can in no way conclude 

 then observations so well as by quoting the following eloquent panage 

 from the ' Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory :'" How often 

 these vicuwUidivi of decay and renovation have been repeated, it is 

 not for us to determine : they constitute a aeries, of which we neither 

 see the begiuning nor the end a circumstance that accord* with what 

 is known concerning other parta of the economy of the world, hit he 

 planetary motions, where geometry has carried the eye no far both 

 into the future and the past, we discover no mark either of the 

 commencement or the termination of the present order. It is 

 unreasonable, indeed, to suppose that such marks should anywhere 

 exist. The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, 

 which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements 

 of their own destruction. He has not permitted, in His works, any 

 symptom of infancy or of old age, or any sign by which we may 

 eBtimate either their future or their past duration. He may put an 

 end, as He no doubt gave a beginning, to the present system, at some 

 determinate period; but we may safely conclude that this great 

 catastrophe will not be brought about by any of the laws now existing, 

 and that it is not indicated by anything which we perceive." 



AI.M A M >l NK. in Mineralogy, the precious (laniet It is the 

 mineral which is most commonly employed in jewellery under the 

 common name of garnet. It is a silicate of alumina and magnesia. 

 [GARNET.! 



Almantlint-Rnby is a name given to a variety of Spiuell which is 

 an aluminate of magnesia. [SriKKLL.] 



ALMOND. [AuYODAtus.] 



ALNUS, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order fietulaeea. 

 It was formerly united with the birch in the same genus, but modern 

 botanists have separated it, because its fruit is winglens and its stamens 

 only four. 



Several species are described in botanical works, most of which are 

 found in America, between the mountains of New Granada and 

 Hudson's Bay : a small part belongs to Europe, and northern and 

 middle Asia. Of these, the only species that need be noticed here are, 

 the Common Alder, the Turkey Alder, and the Heart-Leaved Alder. 



Alniu glMlinoia, the Common Alder, is an inhabitant of swamps and 

 meadows in all Europe, the north of Africa and Asia, and North 

 America. Ite favourite station is by the gide of rivuleta, or in the 



Common Alder (Aluuiyluliaiaa). 



elevated parta of marshy land where the soil in drained ; it does not 

 thrive so well if placed in absolutely stagnant water. Next to the 

 charcoal from Block Dogwood (Klutuiniu /<'//), that mipplii-d by 

 the Common Alder is of the best quality ; and this tree is in conse- 

 quence extensively cultivated in plantation* for urn in the manufac- 

 tories of gunpowder. Its juice contains a great abundance of tannin. 

 which renders the bark valuable for tanning, and the young shoots 



for dyeing various colours when mixed with other ingredient-; tin- 

 veiny knots of ite wood are cut into veneer by cat rs for 

 ornamental purposes ; and its stems, hollowed out, are among the bait 

 materials, next to metal, for water-pipes and underground purposes. 



IU foliage being Urge, and of a deep handsome green, the alder is 

 rather an ornamental tree; and when old it frequently becomes a 

 picturesque object, if unbroken or uninjured by tliu hatchet of the 

 woodman. 



Several varieties of the Common Alder are met with in collections, 

 and among them one, called the Cut-Leaved, which is extn-n.. iy 

 ornamental when young: there is also another, with very much -loU-d 

 leaves, called the Hawthorn-Leaved, in which almost all trace of the 

 usual appearance of the alder has disappeared. 



Alntu inoarui, the Turkey Alder, or Upland Alder, is distinguished 

 from the preceding by ite more erect mode of growth, and by ite 

 leaves being destitute of clamminess, but covered instead with .-..|.i. ..i 

 white down on the underside. It is found all overcoiitim -nt.il Kurope, 

 from Sweden to the north of Italy, and east beyond th.- Caucasus, as 

 far even as Kamtchatka. Like the Common Alder, it shows itself in a 

 number of varieties, among which several are of dwarfish stature ; but 

 ite general character is to grow more rapidly and to acquire a larger 

 size than the Common Alder. What makes it particularly valuable is, 

 that it will grow on light land where there are neither rivulet* nor 

 ditches ; an important property, as it con scarcely be doubted, from ite 

 appearance, that it possesses whatever useful qualities are found in t ! 

 Common Alder. Botanists seem to suppose that the Turkey Al 

 their A. oMongata, but this is a manifest error. 



A. conlifolia, the Heart-Leaved Alder, resembles but little in 

 appearance either of the preceding. It forms a rather large and very 

 handsome round-headed tree, with broad, deep-green, shining leaves, 

 deeply heartohaped at the base. It grows with rapidity, and is one of 

 the most interesting ornamental trees that hare of late years been 

 introduced into cultivation. Though a native of the kingdom of 

 Naples, and a most distinct species, its very existence was unknown 

 till within a few years. It is a perfectly hardy plant, notwithst; 

 its southern station. 



All the Alders are increased with great facility by layers ; they will 

 also strike readily enough from cuttings, but the latter are longer in 

 becoming handsome plants. Common Alder in obtained by the nursery- 

 man from seed ; which should, if possible, be sown in very light, rah, 

 damp soil, in the autumn, soon after it is ripe. If kept till the 

 spring, even if preserved in sand, it loses in a great degree its power 

 of vegetating ; and if not kept in sand, it will scarcely ever grow at all. 



ALOE, a genus of succulent plants belonging to the natural order 

 ". It comprehends a very considerable number of species 

 which differ from each other exceedingly in the size, form, and surface 

 of their leaves, in stature, and in the colour, size, and structure of 

 their flowers. The greater part of them ore mere objects of cm i 

 and are only seen in collections of succulent plants; but among them 

 are species of much value, on account of their yielding the well-known 

 medicinal drug called Aloes. 



From what particular species the resinous substance called Aloes is 

 procured, and whether the different wimples known under the name 

 of Hepatic Aloes, Socotrine Aloes, and Horse Aloes are yielded by 

 different species, or are only different qualities of the same species, 

 are points not settled. 



All that appears certain is that plants nearly related to Aim' ;m/./- 

 littta of Linmeus, which some consider distinct species, while others 

 pronounce them mere varieties of each other, an what the drug m 

 prepared from. In all probability, all the sp. >!, * of the genus having 

 an arborescent stem and thick succulent leaves will yield the substance 

 equally well. 



That which has the reputation of producing the best aloes is 

 A. Socotritia, a plant having, when old, a round stein :i or 

 high ; leaves of a sword form, 1 4 to 2 feet long, sharp-edged, .- 

 hard, and pungent at the apex, often collected in clusters at the top 

 of the stem; and red flowers tipped with green, borne in duster* on 

 tall stalks which rise erect from among tile leaves. This is u n.itive 

 of the Cape of Good Hope, and the island of Socotra, but it is now 

 commonly cultivated in the \\. -t Indie-. The processes of preparing 

 the dnig are various. Sometimes the leaves are cut oil at their bano 

 ami placed in iron vessels to drain, until they hm discharged all their 

 jafaw, which is then inspissated; in other place*, the leaves an- cut 

 into slices and boiled forteu minutes, after which the water in which 

 they have been boiled is evaporated ; occasionally pressure is resorted 

 to for the purpose of procuring the greatest quantity of juiie. 



trine Aloes seem to be the purest kind obtained by draining 

 only; Hepatic or Barbadot-s Aloes, which are obtain.- 1 from tin- 

 ti/i'rui, are less pure, and may be obtained by boiling or 

 Blight pressure; while Horse Aloes are undoubtedly a coarse pn |>i 

 ration of the dregs of the last-mentioned. [ALOES, in Aw 

 <v.] 



No plants can be more easy to cultivate artificially than the Aloe 

 Tribe. They are incapable of parting rapidly with water, and therefore 

 require to be planted in a soil that is very slightly retentive of in. 

 they may not he ;;org.-il with it by their roote ; for this . 

 they M potted in a coo ling of little mow than lime rubbish 



mixed with a small quantity of ordinary soil, and carefully drained. 



